Arrests Made in Russia-Ukraine War: Seven Individuals Detained for Alleged Killing of Russian Journalists
The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) apprehended seven individuals on Friday (July 14) in connection with the murders of two prominent Russian journalists. According to reports from Russia’s official news agency TASS, the accused individuals were allegedly plotting the killings under the direction of Ukraine.
On July 15, a court approved the detention of five minors and two men on charges of hooliganism until September 14, as reported by TASS. These individuals were found to be part of an organized group.
The detained suspects were involved in conducting surveillance around the residences and offices of Margarita Simonyan, the head of the state media outlet RT, and Ksenia Sobchak, who ran against President Vladimir Putin in 2018. In response to the journalist-related incident, Mykhailo Podolyak, an advisor to President Volodymyr Zelensky, remarked that Russia was entangled in an absurd narrative, emphasizing that journalists played no significant role in the war.
However, the FSB stated, as reported by the Interfax news agency, that the arrested individuals confessed to preparing an attack on the two women on behalf of Ukraine. They were promised a reward of 1.5 million rubles ($16,620) for each female journalist killed.
Ukraine has been accused of carrying out these killings. Last year, bomb attacks in Russia claimed the lives of the prominent pro-war Russian journalist Daria Dugina and military blogger Vladlen Tatarsky. While Russia held Ukraine responsible for these assassinations, Kiev denied any involvement.
In May, Zakhar Prilepin, a well-known Russian nationalist writer, was injured in a car bombing that resulted in the death of his driver. Investigators reported that a suspect had been apprehended, who admitted to acting on behalf of Ukraine.
